How Do You Press Dried Flowers and Keep the Color?

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How Do You Press Dried Flowers and Keep the Color?

Overview

Pressing flowers, either from your garden or a special event, can preserve memories and make lovely crafts. After the effort you make to perfectly press your flowers, it can be disappointing to see the color of your pressed flower is not as vivid as when it was fresh. Starting with the freshest flowers and using a flower press, instead of paper and weight, will give you pressed flowers that have kept their original color.

Step 1

Cut the flower heads off your flowers. Cut the leaves or foliage off separately.

Step 2

Lay your flower heads and leaves on single sheets of paper for your press. No flower or leave should overlap another, and they will do best if placed facing down.

Step 3

Layer your flower press in this order: cardboard piece, felt sheet, unprinted newsprint, flowers and leaves, then another sheet of newsprint. Repeat this process, ending with a cardboard piece.

Step 4

Tighten the flower press.

Step 5

Place your filled flower press into a plastic box that is filled with silica gel, then seal the box. The silica gel will absorb the moisture in your flowers and leaves more rapidly than if your press was left outside the plastic box. Drying your pressed flowers quickly will retain the natural color of your flowers the best.

Step 6

Store your pressed flowers in envelopes placed in a plastic, lidded box that contains a small amount of silica gel. The silica gel will help keep your pressed flowers from absorbing moisture, thus preserving the color and shape.

Things You'll Need

Fresh cut flowers

Flower press

Plastic box with lid, large enough to fit the press in

Silica gel

References

Priyara Jendran.com: Art of Pressed Flowers

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About this Author

At home in rural California, Kate Carpenter has been writing articles and web content for several well known marketeers since 2007. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kansas and A Master of Education equivalent from the University of Northern Colorado, Carpenter brings a wealth of diverse experience to her writing.